Canada

Sharks being tracked online

The Canadian Press -
Oct 20, 2018 / 11:57 am | Story:
239738

Photo: The Canadian Press

A white shark found in Canadian waters is shown off the coast of Nova Scotia in this recent handout photo. All six of the sharks tagged in Nova Scotian waters as part of a "historic" expedition can now be tracked on Ocearch's website, and appear to be scattering throughout the ocean. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Ocearch, Robert Snow

All six of the sharks tagged in Nova Scotian waters as part of a "historic" expedition can now be tracked on Ocearch's website, and appear to be scattering throughout the ocean.

The research team came to Nova Scotia on a hunch in mid-September, and spent almost a month looking for sharks off the coast of the province in an effort to better understand their movements and mating habits.

As of Saturday, Hal and Nova, two male great whites, were seen on Ocearch's shark tracker towards the southeastern part of Nova Scotia, between Lunenburg and Shelburne.

Luna, a female great white named for Lunenburg, has tracked in the Bay of Fundy close to the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border.

Jane and Cabot, a female and a male, were a bit more ambitious, and showed up near New Hampshire, with Jane tracking further out to sea. Jefferson, meanwhile, went out even further, with his tracker showing up close to Rhode Island.

Expedition leader Chris Fischer has said the information gathered from the sharks' tags and samples should help scientists paint a clearer picture of the North Atlantic species' lives and plan a path forward to protect them.